Thursday, June 21, 2012

First of all don't bother seeing this movie in 3D because it is not at all worth it. As this is a translation of book to film it feels as such. It's a really long film that takes a good portion of the movie before it picks up speed. The cast was pretty solid as was the acting. The true star of the show were the impressive graphics. As far as 3D movies go though this was a fail for me.

My idea of a good 3D movie is one that incorporates a lot of 3D objects popping or flying out at you not just "depth". To be honest I didn't even really feel much 3D depth in this film and as far as I recall there was not one object flying at me or popping out to me. The graphics on the other hand were very impressive. I feel like if this movie was shot with 3D cameras it could have been the most impressively looking 3D film next to Avatar.

Next to the impressive graphics was the cast. The cast consisted of Taylor Kitsch, who played everybody's favorite card throwing mutant, Willem Dafoe, Spideys greatest foe, Lynn Collins, who was also from Wolverine Origins, Dominic West, from 300 & Punisher War Zone as Jigsaw. Taylor Kitsch plays John Carter, Willem Dafoe as Tars Tarkus, Johns alien ally, Lynn Collins, Mars princess Dejah Thoris, and the antagonist, Sab Than, played by Dominic West. The cast did a stellar job with their respective roles. The story could have been done a little better though.

As I said this film is actually adapted from a book. Sometimes staying too close to the source material doesn't translate as well as it could. As some books go this movie also doesn't pick up and start to make complete sense until about halfway through. The things this movie didn't do well was a hook, backstory/exposition, and explanation of purpose early in the movie. The things that this movie did do well was use elements of other sci-fi films. Despite the fact that the book was written in 1917 I felt like they used Star Wars as inspiration, minus the incest, by trying to make it more relatable with a character becoming a new hope, saves and falls in love with the princess, and saves the world all in our own solar system. It also reminded me of Avatar with the tall, green, four-armed alien tribes that join up against a common foe trying to destroy the world. The love story was a little forced and cheesy at times. Despite these complaints I felt that the story was pretty good.

It could have been better but overall I enjoyed it. The cast has a lot of ties in sci-fi and superhero films so they were all a good fit for their roles and this movie. The graphics were very impressive yet could have been the best second to Avatar if shot with 3D cameras. Had this film been done more like a movie than a book it would have done a better job with a hook, the backstory, and purpose it could have been exponentially better. I strongly suggest that everybody should see this movie for enjoyment just as a strong action sci-fi film. Yet I can only advise John Carter Of Mars as a strong RENT.